y under the bed, and the dead Huguenots bumping down
upon the roof from the castle-walls. Another curious meal wafted from
the bowels of the earth and cooled by all the airs that blow,--then the
shawl-straps were girded anew, the carriage (a half-grown omnibus with
the jaundice) mounted, the farewell bows and adieux received, and forth
rumbled the duchesses _en route_ for Blois.

'My heart is rent at leaving that lovely _chateau_,' said Mat, as they
crossed the bridge.

'I mourn the earth-worms, the cacti, and the tireless "gossoon,"' added
Amanda, who appreciated French cookery and had enjoyed confidences with
Adolphe.

'The cats, the cats, the cats! I could die happy if I had one,'
murmured Lavinia; and with these laments they left the town behind them.

Any thing hotter than Blois, with its half dried-up river, dusty
boulevards, and baked streets, can hardly be imagined. But these
indomitable women 'did' the church and the castle without flinching. The
former was pronounced a failure, but the latter was entirely
satisfactory. The Emperor was having it restored in the most splendid
manner. The interior seemed rather fresh and gay when contrasted with
the time-worn exterior, but the stamped leathern hangings, tiled floors,
emblazoned beams, and carved fireplaces were quite correct. Dragons and
crowns, porcupines and salamanders, monograms and flowers, shone
everywhere in a maze of scarlet and gold, brown and silver, purple and
white.

Here the historical Amanda revelled, and quenched the meek old guide
with a burst of information which caused him to stare humbly at 'the mad
English.'

'_Regardez_, my dears, the chamber and oratory of Catherine de Medicis,
who here plotted the death of the Duc de Guise. This is the cabinet of
her son, Henri III., where he gave the daggers to the gentlemen who were
to rid him of his enemy, the hero of the barricades. This is the Salle
des Gardes, where Guise was leaning on the chimney-piece when summoned
to the king. This is the little room at the entrance of which he was set
upon in the act of lifting the drapery, and stabbed with forty wounds.'

'Oh! how horrid!' gasped Matilda, staring about as if she saw the
sanguinary gentlemen approaching.

'So interesting! Do go on!' cried Lavinia, who was fond of woe, and
enjoyed horrors.

'This is the hall where the body lay for two hours, covered with a cloak
and a cross of straw on the breast,' cut in Amanda, as the guide opened
hi